Our People

Rebecca Tomkinson is the Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Flying Doctor Service (Western Operations).

She is accountable for the sustainability and success of an iconic WA organisation that provides life-saving aero medical and primary health services to the people of Western Australia. 

Rebecca brings a highly strategic, broad sector lens and strong executive experience to her role. Her professional contributions include leading transformational change, building sustainable business models, government relations, strategic policy development and stakeholder engagement. She has held advisory roles across a number of sectors and is deeply committed to the development of regional Western Australia – where she was raised and educated.

Rebecca is actively involved in building community and business capability. She chairs the Regional Development Council, serves on the Senate of Murdoch University and the Western Australian CEDA State Advisory Board President. She holds qualifications in community development, public policy and social impact.

Dr Ian J Watt AC has had a long career as one of Australia’s most distinguished public servants, with nearly 20 years at the highest levels of the public service.

His most recent and most senior appointment was as Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and head of the Australian Public Service, a position he held from 2011 until the end of 2014.  Prior to that, he was Secretary of the Departments of Defence; Finance; and Communications, Information Technology and the Arts between 2001 and 2011.  Before that, he was Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 

Dr Watt is Chairman of BAE Systems Australia.  He also serves on the Boards of Citigroup Pty Ltd, Smartgroup Corporation, the Grattan Institute (University of Melbourne) and O’Connell Street Associates Pty Ltd, and is a Member of the Male Champions of Change.  He is also Chair of the National Innovation and Science Agenda Implementation Committee, Chair of the International Centre for Democratic Partnerships, and Chair of the Advisory Council of the SMART Infrastructure Facility at the University of Wollongong.

Janeen Baxter is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course.

She is also a Group Leader in the Institute for Social Science Research at The University of Queensland where she leads research on family dynamics and social disadvantage. Janeen has research interests in social disadvantage, gender inequality, family dynamics, life course and longitudinal studies and has published widely in these areas, as well as supervising the research of numerous higher degree students and research fellows. She has held visiting positions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Manchester and the Centre for Longitudinal Studies at University College London.
 
Janeen has served on several editorial boards for national and international journals and has been a member and Chair of the College of Experts for the Australian Research Council. She is currently leading the Evaluation of the Try, Test and Learn Fund for the Australian Government Department of Social Services and has undertaken a number of other evaluations of major government programs. Janeen is an elected fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and a former member of its executive committee. She is currently a member of several government advisory committees and research advisory boards, including the Expert Advisory Board for the Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study and 100 Families WA.

After completing her PhD in 1998 at Stanford University, Catherine taught at the University of New South Wales.

She joined the University of Melbourne in 2001, and held roles in the Business School and the Economics Department. She has held visiting positions at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford University, and the Stern School of Business, New York University. Most recently she was an Associate Professor of Economics at the Melbourne Business School, University of Melbourne. 

Her research has been published in a number of international journals, including the American Economic Review, the RAND Journal of Economics, and the Journal of Industrial Economics. In competition economics, her research has focused on firm-to-firm negotiations, and how mergers or exclusive dealing contracts will affect negotiated outcomes. She has also researched topics from organisational economics and development economics.

Professor Adrienne Clarke AC is Chancellor of La Trobe University and Laureate Professor at the University of Melbourne.

She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and is a Foreign Member of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Professor Clarke has served as a director for many public companies including Alcoa of Australia, Woolworths, WMC and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare. She recently retired as a Director of Hexima.

Professor Clarke also serves on advisory boards including the Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology and the Australian Advisory Board of The Nature Conservancy. Professor Clarke has served as President of the International Society for Plant Molecular Biology and was Chairman of the CSIRO from 1991 to 1996. She was Lieutenant Governor of Victoria from 1997 to 2000. Her work as a scientist is in the field of genetic engineering of plants, particularly creating plants resistant to insect attack and fungal diseases.

Professor Julian Disney AO is Director of the Social Justice Project at the University of NSW.

He is also the Chair of Australian Press Council, Anti-Poverty Week, the National Affordable Housing Summit and the National Community Tax Forum. Professor Disney has previously been a Law Reform Commissioner, Coordinator of the Sydney Welfare Rights Centre, Professor of Public Law at ANU, President of the Australian Council of Social Service, and World President of the International Council on Social Welfare, which represents national social welfare organisations from more than 80 countries.

He has chaired three independent inquiries, and been a member of many advisory committees for governments at national and state level. In 1995, Professor Disney was appointed an officer in the Order of Australia for service to the development of economic and social policy and to the law, and he has been awarded an honorary Doctorate of Laws by the University of NSW.

Laureate Professor Peter Doherty AC shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1996 with Swiss colleague Rolf Zinkernagel for their discovery of how the immune system recognises virus-infected cells.

He was Australian of the Year in 1997, and has since been commuting between St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne. His research is mainly in the area of defence against viruses. He regularly devotes time to delivering public lectures, writing articles for newspapers and magazines, and participating in radio discussions.

Professor Doherty graduated from the University of Queensland in Veterinary Science and became a veterinary officer. Moving to Scotland, he received his PhD from the University of Edinburgh Medical School. He is the first person with a veterinary qualification to win a Nobel Prize. Professor Doherty is also the author of several books, including A Light History of Hot Air and The Beginners Guide to Winning the Nobel Prize.

Peter Duncan AO was born in Buckinghamshire, England in 1941. The family moved to New Zealand in 1949. 

He graduated with First Class Honours in Chemical Engineering from Canterbury University, NZ in 1962 and with a post-graduate Diploma in Business Studies (with Distinction) from the London School of Economics in 1965. He spent most of 1964 in France on a bursary from the French government to work in the French chemical industry. 

Peter joined the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of companies in London in 1965 and worked in a diverse range of finance and general management positions throughout the group. Between 1965 and 1982, he worked in Venezuela, Curacao, London and Singapore, following which he was Managing Director of Shell Switzerland and then Vice President Marketing for Europe in The Hague. From 1989 to 1992, he was Executive Director Finance and Information of Shell Australia, and a board member of Woodside Petroleum. 

From 1992 to 1997 he was Chief Executive of Deutsche Shell, a member of the board of the Oil Industry Association in Germany and a member of the advisory board of Commerzbank. In August 1997, Peter assumed the position of non-executive Chairman of Shell New Zealand and Shell New Zealand Holding Company. In September 1997, he was appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer, Shell Oceania; Executive Director Oil Products, Shell Australia; and a director of various Shell Pacific Island companies. From 1999 to 2001, he was Chairman of the Australian Institute of Petroleum.

Peter was appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Shell Group of Companies in Australia on 1 July 1999, and retired from this position at the end of September 2001. He is Chairman of Scania Australia and of the Cranlana Programme Foundation. He has been the Chairman of Orica (2009-2014), a director of the CSIRO (2002-2005), NAB (2001-2008) and GasNet (2001-2005), and a member of the advisory board of Siemens (2001-2004). 

Peter is a member of the Global Foundation, the Melbourne Club, the Wellington Club in New Zealand, the Kew Golf Club and the Rotary Club of Melbourne. He is a member of the foundation board of the Very Special Kids Foundation. In September 2001 until December 2005, Peter was President of the Australian German Association. He continues to be a member. Peter speaks German, Danish, French and Spanish. On Australia Day 2000, Peter became an Australian citizen.

Professor Sandra Harding took up her appointment as Vice-Chancellor and President of James Cook University Australia in January 2007.

In this role, she is responsible for ensuring clear and effective leadership and management of the University across all operating sites, including campuses in Townsville, Cairns and Singapore. Educated at the Australian National University, the University of Queensland and North Carolina State University (USA), Professor Harding is an economic sociologist with a keen scholarly interest in markets and how they work, and organisation survey methodology.

She also has a keen professional interest in education policy and management. Professor Harding has extensive academic and academic leadership experience. In addition, she has undertaken a wide variety of senior university-aligned roles as well as memberships/directorships of a variety of local, national and international boards and councils.

Current roles include: Member, the Australia-China Council Board; Co-Chair, the New Colombo Plan; Member, International Education and Training Advisory Council Queensland; Director, Regional Australia Institute; Council Member, the Australian Institute for Marine Science; Director, North Queensland Cowboys NRL club; Member, Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) Advisory Board; Member, Australian Research Council (ARC) Advisory Board; Director of Townsville Enterprises and of Advance Cairns (regional economic development bodies).

Previous external roles include: Commissioner, Queensland Independent Commission of Audit (March 2012 to February 2013); Australia's representative, University Grants Commission for the University of the South Pacific; Chair, Australian Statistics Advisory Council; Member, HIH Assessment Review Panel; Board member, Skills Queensland; Board member, Australian Learning and Teaching Council; Chairman, Brisbane Marketing; Director, Australian Institute for Commercialisation; Director, Global Foundation for Management Education (Montreal); Chair, Innovative Research Universities (an alliance of seven Australian universities: Charles Darwin, Griffith, La Trobe, Flinders, Murdoch, Newcastle and James Cook universities); Inaugural President, Australian Business Deans Council; Vice-President, Australian Universities Community Engagement Alliance.

In 2003, Professor Harding was recognised as North Carolina State University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences Distinguished Alumna for that year. In 2010, she received an Honorary Doctorate for services to education from Japan's Josai International University, and in 2012, she was recognised as an Honorary Fellow of the Australian College of Educators (ACE) and was named the ACE 2012 Queensland Medallist "…in recognition of her leadership of education in the tropics that has seen a new academic emphasis on life and the people of the tropics".

Professor Harding is an Honorary Fellow of the Australian College of Educators, Fellow of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management.

Dr Allan Hawke AC was born in Canberra on 18 February 1948, educated in Queanbeyan and at the Australian National University.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours (1970) and Doctor of Philosophy (1976). Dr Hawke joined the Commonwealth Public Service in 1974 as an Administrative Trainee with the Public Service Board, and he rose through the ranks to Deputy Secretary in Defence and Prime Minister and Cabinet; Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Keating; and Secretary of Veterans' Affairs, Transport and Regional Services, and Defence.

He completed his public service as High Commissioner to New Zealand, retiring on 27 February 2006 to become Chancellor of the Australian National University for a three-year term. Dr Hawke was appointed a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Public Administration in 1998 and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management in 1999 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to public service. In 2001, he became a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

The Australian Financial Review Boss Magazine named him one of Australia's top 30 true leaders in its inaugural list in 2001. A recipient of the Centenary Medal in 2003, Dr Hawke was appointed a Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia in the 2010 Queen's Birthday List for eminent service to public administration. Dr Hawke now serves on a number of boards, has conducted a series of government inquiries, and he is involved in a range of charitable, community and sporting organisations.

John Winston Howard served as Australia’s Prime Minister between March 1996 and November 2007. 

He is the nation’s second longest serving Prime Minister, was a Member of Parliament for 33 years, and was Treasurer in an earlier government. Under his leadership Australia enjoyed continued economic growth averaging 3.6 per cent per annum. His government delivered major economic reform in the areas of taxation, workplace relations, privatisation and welfare. $96 billion of government debt was repaid during the time in office of the Howard Government.

When it left office in November 2007 the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia had no net debt, and its budget was in surplus. This strong fiscal position was a major reason why Australia suffered relatively few consequences from the global financial crisis. Under John Howard’s leadership Australia strongly supported the United States and other nations in the fight against terrorism. Australia contributed military forces to operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Australia also led the United Nations sanctioned Interfet force following East Timor’s vote for independence.  The Howard Government strengthened bilateral ties between Australia and many nations in Asia. During Mr Howard’s time as Prime Minister, China became Australia’s largest export destination. Mr Howard is a Companion of the Order of Australia and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States by President George W Bush. In January 2012, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Mr Howard to the Order of Merit. In 2013, on the recommendation of the Japanese Government, he was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun. 

Mr Graham Kraehe is Chairman of BlueScope Steel, Chairman of Brambles and a Director of Djerriwarrh Investments and the Reserve Bank of Australia.

He was previously Chairman of National Australia Bank and a Director of News Corporation. Mr Kraehe's executive career spanned 30 years as CEO of a number of businesses in the diversified industrial and wine sectors including Pacific BBA and Southcorp. Both businesses had a number of operations in Asia and North America.  He is a Director of European Australian Business Council. 

Mr Kraehe has had many business and community roles including national President of the Australian Industry Group and Chairman of the Future Directions Forum. In 2003, he was made a member of the Order of Australia for services to industry and the environment.

Dr McGill joined Esso Australia in 1969.

His 38-year career in the energy business took him to all significant oil and gas production and processing areas of the world. At retirement, he was a member of Exxon Mobil Corporation's Management Committee with functional responsibility for the global upstream businesses (Exploration, Development, Production, Gas and Power Marketing, Research). During his career, Dr McGill lived and worked in Australia, Europe, South-East Asia and America.

He was Managing Director, Esso Production Malaysia; Chairman and Managing Director, Esso Australia; President, Esso Benelux; President, Exxon Company International; President, ExxonMobil Gas and Power Marketing Company; and President, ExxonMobil Production Company. Dr McGill completed his undergraduate (1964) and doctorate (1969) degrees in Chemical Engineering at the University of Sydney. He was awarded a Sydney University Sports Blue in Boat in 1961.

He is a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, a Fellow of Engineers Australia and a Life Member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. He is a board member of The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering at Sydney University and a board member of the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Foundation at Sydney University.

Andrew Mohl is a Director of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, former Chairman of the Federal Government's Export Finance and Insurance Corporation, and an executive coach to chief executive officers. 

He is also a member of the Board of Governors for CEDA, the Corporate Council of the European Australian Business Council and ASIC's External Advisory Panel. Andrew was Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of AMP from 2002 to 2007. He has over 35 years of financial services experience.

David Mortimer has over 40 years of corporate finance and commercial experience.

He was a senior executive of TNT Limited Group from 1973, serving as Finance Director and then as Chief Executive Officer until his resignation in October 1997. He is currently Chairman of Australia Post, Crescent Capital Partners and Leighton Holdings. Mr Mortimer is a member of the Defence Strategic Reform Advisory Board and was Chairman of Defence Procurement Advisory Board from 2004 to 2008. Mr Mortimer has been a professional director and investor. He has chaired several publicly listed companies in addition to his current directorships.

He has also served on boards and not-for-profit organisations. In 2008, Mr Mortimer was appointed by the Federal Government to conduct two reviews: the review of Export Policies and Programs, Winning in World Markets, and the Defence Procurement and Sustainment Review,Going to the Next level. Both reviews were released at the end of September 2008. Mr Mortimer also completed a review into Business Programmes for the Federal Government in 1998,Going for Growth. Mr Mortimer was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2005.

Warren Mundine AO is from the First Australian Nations of Bundjalung and the Gumbaynggirr people on the North Coast of New South Wales. 

His life and career have been shaped by a deep-seated personal commitment to community, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, and he has more than 26 years' experience working in the public, private and community sectors. Mr Mundine is currently Chief Executive Officer of NTSCORP, a company in New South Wales that assists Traditional Owners to achieve social justice and promote economic, environmental and cultural development through Native Title and other avenues. 

As Chair of the Australian Indigenous Chamber of Commerce, Mr Mundine provides national leadership for initiatives to promote economic development and help Indigenous people break the welfare cycle, such as the Australian Employment Covenant and the First Australians Business Awards. Mr Mundine has been recognised for his community, government and business achievements by being awarded Doctor of the University (honoris causa) Southern Cross University. He has also been awarded the Centenary Medal for services to the community and local government, and the Bennelong Medal for Leadership in Indigenous Affairs.

Dr John Schubert AO is the Chairman of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and a Director of BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton Plc. 

He is the former Chairman of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, a position he held from 2004 until his retirement in 2010. Dr John Schubert was appointed to the Board of the Commonwealth Bank in 1991 and was Deputy Chairman from 2000 to 2004. He is Chairman of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, and is a past President of the Business Council of Australia and previous Chairman of G2 Therapies. From 2000 to 2003, Dr John Schubert was a Director of Hanson, and from 2002 to 2004 he was Chairman of Worley Group.

From 1993 to 2000, he was Managing Director and CEO of Pioneer International. In 1969, Dr John Schubert commenced his career with Esso Australia as a professional engineer on the various oil and gas production facilities for the Bass Strait Field. He held various supervising and management positions with Esso in Australia and overseas before he was appointed Chairman and Managing Director in 1988. He held this position until 1993.

Dr Switkowski is Chancellor of RMIT University and Chairman of NBN Co.

Dr Switkowski is a former Chairman of Suncorp Group, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation and of Opera Australia. He has also served as a non-executive director on the boards of Tabcorp Holdings, Healthscope, Oil Search, Lynas and Amcor.

He has previously held positions as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Telstra Corporation Limited and Optus Communications Ltd.

He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

In 2014, Dr Switkowski was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in recognition of service to tertiary education administration, scientific organisations and the telecommunications sector, to business, and to the arts.

Richard Warburton is currently Chairman of Westfield Retail Trust, Magellan Flagship Fund and Citigroup. 

He also serves as Chairman of the Commonwealth Studies Conference, Vice Chair of the Council on Australian Latin American Relations and a Member of the Advisory Council of the Centre for Social Impact. Richard Warburton is a former Chairman and CEO of Dupont Australia and New Zealand, and he worked with Dupont for 30 years in marketing, manufacturing, technical and management roles in Australia, USA and Thailand. 

He was a Board Member of the Reserve Bank of Australia; Chairman of the Australian Board of Taxation, Caltex Australia, David Jones, Goldfields, Tandou and Wool International; and a Director of Southcorp, Tabcorp Holdings, Nufarm and other companies.

Peter Wills has been involved in property development and business management for over 40 years and is widely acknowledged as a prominent leader in the Australian property industry.

In addition to his property experience, he has had an influential role in furthering Australia's health and medical research sector. Having become Chairman of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in the early 1990s, he was appointed by the Federal Government as Chairman of the Health and Medical Research Strategic Review (Wills Review) in 1998, which contributed significantly to major funding increases and restructuring of the sector generally.

Following this review, he was appointed Chairman of the Australian Research Council and was a Member of the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovations Council (PMSEIC). In 2001, he was awarded as a Companion of the General Division of the Order of Australia.